One Night
by TheEvilBunny
Summary: He asked her for one night out, and he hoped it would change their lives. NightwingxRaven
1. Trust

Author's Note: I was reading through my fanfics and I came across this one…I thought I had a good plot, but my writing style…w

**Author's Note:** I was reading through my fanfics and I came across this one…I thought I had a good plot, but my writing style…wasn't as good, so I'll try to do it again, only better (hopefully). 

The tall clock tower ticked 8:00. The sky was dark and the pale moon was shining above Jump City. Little dots like glitter scattered around the moon, illuminating the streets.

His silent footprints splashed through the puddles in the small alley as he tried to catch a certain the man who robbed the bank. He saw the criminal freeze in his tracks at the sight of the giant barrier that stood in front of him.

"Looks like a dead end." Taunted the crime-fighter. He pounced on the robber and held his wrists tight. He felt the man cringing under him, wringing his fists away so he could escape.

"Y-you don't understand…my family…they need me…" pleaded the robber. "…I need the money…"

"Robbing the bank isn't the right way to do it!" He screamed, frustrated. The sincerity of his voice stabbed the hero right in the middle of his chest, and he found it harder to breathe.

The robber struggled in his grasp. "Who are you to tell me what I should and shouldn't do? You don't understand why I'm doing this. You're not as unfortunate as we are. Everything's so EASY FOR YOU."

He wasn't right. Everything was all but easy for this hero.

_You don't know the half of it. _He thought, remembering those days. Those _**were**_ the days.

"I'm Nightwing." He explained. "It's my job to keep this city crime-free."

The pride in his voice only made the man hate Nightwing more, and more with each passing second.

"Well, Nightwing, if only I could see myself through your eyes, then I would see that what I'm doing is wrong…" His teeth were gritted and his fists were clenched as he struggled to get out of Nightwing's strong grip. "…but from my situation, this is the only thing left to do."

Nightwing froze at the sound of the man's piercing words. He remembered her, what she said…

"…_let me see him, though your eyes…"_

_He felt a surge of energy through him. Her spirit collided with his in his beaten down body. They were one, together…_

…He shook the memory away. Now wasn't the time for that. "No! Your actions have consequences…you deserve to go to jail!"

Nightwing dragged the struggling robber to the police station, and tied him to the light post in front of it. "Stay here. They'll get you tomorrow morning."

He walked away, and voices echoed inside his head…

"_We have a bond, remember? You've been inside my mind. Let me inside yours."_

"_Robin, you know me better than anyone"_

"_Robin…"_

"_Robin…"_

He clutched his head, and guilt flooded through him. He screamed at the top of his lungs, hoping that it could take it all away. His voice echoed through the midnight alleys and streets, and all he was left with was the same voice that echoed through his head, calling his name.

It had been years since the titans had separated, and he hoped that he go back and fix it all. It was his fault, anyway. Maybe he never admitted it, but it was his fault. He was too proud, too heroic, too human to admit it.

He stopped in the middle of the road and stared at the tall building beside him. It was a clean, white building, with rows of windows that stretched out until the highest floor. In front was a large lighted sign that said "Jump City Mental Home". He'd heard from one civilian that they'd been keeping a demon in there. He had a demon friend once, and he hoped that he still did.

Maybe it would be time to fix what he had once broken. He tried to hold back— he could never make the teen titans who they were, again. Never.

His body inched closer to the building, and as he touched the silver plate that opened the door, he felt his heart pounding against his chest.

He could only imagine how awkward he looked, with his hero uniform, and his long, jet-black hair. He could feel the stares on him, and he could imagine himself being dragged away into one of the rooms. And, in all honesty, he didn't really mind. Anything was better than walking around the dead city streets that smelled of alcohol and hate— or maybe that was just him.

He approached the closest nurse and asked for a "Raven Roth". The woman eyed him conspicuously before she escorted him to a far room in the end of the hallway.

The walls were white, with a couple of clean windows here and there. He could see behind each window either men who were talking to themselves, or women in straight jackets. It seemed, with each passing room, the people's conditions grew worse; then, he could only imagine what was at the end of it— a demon, a pure-bred demon.

"Is she really dangeros?" he asked the nurse. Unsure if he wanted to continue this.

"No, actually, she expects you are." She replied with a faint smile. "I'm glad you decided to visit her. No one has been coming here for a long time…" Her voice drifted away. "Actually, no one has come to visit her at all…are you her boyfriend? She seems too beautiful a lady to not have one."

"No," his gaze drifted down to his feet, as he blushed at the thought of being romantically related to Raven. "I'm just a friend"

"It's good to know she used to have friends… She seems like a nice girl. Quiet, though. But nice. She never gets angry, no matter how much you screw up." The nurse seemed to know much about Raven, and that distant voice seemed to calming for Raven's taste. Nightwing could only wonder how the two could have gotten along.

They stopped in front of a white door, no windows— just walls and a door. As she turned the brass doorknob, she said "You may enter." She motioned Nightwing to come in, and watched, carefully was Nightwing stepped closer.

The entire room was white. A wide bed stood against the wall in one corner, and across it, was another door, which he presumed led to her bathroom. In the far corner was a hooded figure. She was wearing a white cloak, and a white dress that flowed down to her feet. A white band hang from her hips, and on each of her hands were the same red gems that had been there years ago. She wrapped her arms against herself.

"I will leave you two." the nurse suggested, a smile plastered on her lips; closing the door behind her.

"Rae?" Nightwing asked. He reached for her shoulder, but a black force prevented him from getting anywhere near her.

"Get out." She said. "I don't need you."

Nightwing sighed loudly. "Rae…please."

His voice quivered with regret. He made her like this. He wanted to fix it. He wanted to fix her broken soul so badly. He wanted to touch her crippled heart, and he wanted to heal her wounds. He wanted to steal away from this tormenting place, and carry her away to where she could be her normal self again— if only he could.

"Raven, talk to me. I want to fix this."

"Talking is for fools. It's pointless…just like everything else." She replied. Her voice was monotonous, but her finger nails pressed deeper into her arms.

"Please. We need to—" He reached for her again, but the black aura came back, as if it protected her, wither her commanding it.

"Who are you?" She interrupted. "I don't know you."

"It's me…" He struggled inside to find the right name for himself.

"I don't know you! Stay away!" She shouted. A large black shield blocked his hand.

"We have a bond…remember? You've been inside my mind…"

_I ruined your life, I made you like this, I pushed you until I couldn't get anything out of you, I twisted you and turned you until you had nothing left inside. You remember me, Rae? I hurt you so badly that you loved me. Loathe me, Raven. Hate me, because I don't' love you. I will never love you. Raven…it's me. _

Her eyes widened as she fell to the ground. The voices in her head only grew louder. She clutched her head, trying to ease the pain. "No! I don't want to hear it! Stop!" She gasped for air, as if she were drowning. Cursing herself for ever letting this happen again.

"Raven! What's wrong?" He stepped closer, he tried to reach her, but he couldn't. Everything was there to keep him from helping her.

"Shut up!" Her eyes grew wider, and her heart pounded loudly. She opened her mouth to scream, but she couldn't. Her hood fell down on her shoulders and the room was black, as black as it was white a second ago.

_We have a bond…remember? You've been inside my mind…Don't you remember? You loved me. You STILL love me._

"No!" She pounded her fragile fists into the ground, and fell on her side. She leaned her body on her elbow as she struggled to get back up again.

"Rae!" Nightwing rushed to her side, as the black force disappeared.

"Stop!" She pushed him to the side, and levitated to another corner. She pulled her hood up, again, just before Nightwing could see her face.

"Tell me what's going on!" he shouted to her.

"Just trust me…If you knew anything about the day of my birth…you'd know there's nothing to celebrate." She replied breathlessly, staring blankly.

"Rae…what are you talking about? The day of your birth? Raven, that's over…it's all over…" He stopped as his eyes widened. "Memories…" he whispered. That was what happened. Raven remembered. So she still remembered him.

"Who are you?" She asked, turning around to look at the person she had been talking to. She bit her lip.

"Robin." He said. "It's me…Robin."

She whispered his name again, but only silence filled the air. She circled him, examining his features. His hair was long and his suit was black with a symbol of a blue bird in the middle of his chest. He had a mask, pointing above his nose.

"Why are you here?" she asked again. "Surely you are not here just to see me again… Nobody ever came here to see me again..." Her voice drifted away.

"Actually, I want to ask you one night out…"

Raven's eyes widened. She'd been waiting years for this.

"…to talk, not the dating kind." He continued defensively, thinking that his sentence his sounded weird.

"No." She levitated back to the corner. "I do not belong out there."

"Raven, I ask just one night. Just one." Nightwing pleaded. "As soon as the sun comes out, I promise I'll bring you back. I want to fix everything, again."

He extended his hand, waiting for her answer, hoping that he would get the one he'd been expecting.

"Do you trust me?" he asked.

"Yes." She willfully placed her hand on his, as they walked out the room.


	2. Useless Beauty

Author's Note: I was sort of hoping that this would be a one-shot fic, but I couldn't fit it…don't worry I'll post the next ch

They were walking down the sidewalks, admiring the views of the city, pointing at different places and exploring all the corners.

Raven was following behind Nightwing, as he toured her around.

"It's been long since I've seen anything outside my room." She whispered to him monotonously. "A lot has changed since then." She spoke cautiously, hoping that nothing could trigger the evil inside of her, again.

She seemed so fascinated by the things around her, not by her expressions, but how she seemed to follow Nightwing's glances.

She still had her hood up, and Nightwing wanted to pull it down and see what she had become now. She HAD grown to be quite a beautiful lady.

They sat down at the bench in the park. "So, how are you doing?" he asked her, looking deep into her purple eyes.

"Okay." She replied coldly.

He couldn't help but smile, he remembered how she had always pushed them away, trying so hard to keep her secrets intact, when they had always wanted to come out.

She looked down and caught a glance of the most beautiful thing she had ever seen.

Little flowers blossomed with the growing grass. They had colors of all sorts; there were violet ones, blue ones, pink ones, white ones, and yellow ones. And beside them was a small rose bush full of red and white roses.

"Flowers…" she said. She kneeled on the path and observed the beautiful things. She picked a white rose and smelled its sweet aroma. "They are so beautiful."

In the background, a few light posts shattered. She turned around and quickly got back up on the seat, letting go of the rose.

"What are they for?" Raven asked with a tone of irritation. "We have plenty of breathable air, yet they grow worthlessly."

Nightwing smiled at what she had said. He was sure she'd always wanted to ask this before. He'd seen her once, after they defeated Dr. Light, staring at the very same flowers. "Plenty of things in this world are useless, but not completely."

"Not completely?" She rose an eyebrow conspicuously. Her eyes were longing, but her voice was monotone. She folded her hands on her lap, turning away before Nightwing could look back at her.

"Some things in this world are made to be beautiful. They just…make you happy inside. You know? Like the flowers." He examined them, remembering how beautiful Starfire had been. She was pretty useless, at times, and annoying, too. But she brought a certain sunshine, that made people change. His mind floated away to memories of her…

"I wouldn't know." She said. "I can't feel remember?"

Nightwing was taken aback by her answer, how could he bring up a topic like that. He closed his eyes, mentally scolding himself.

"Look, you can have this." He picked up the white rose she had dropped and handed it to her.

"What am I supposed to do with that?" She asked. "It's not going to be much of a help to me, and it's going to get in the way."

"It's called a souvenir Rae. Like a remembrance." He explained, picking out the thorns on the rose and placing it on her hand.

" I know what a souvenir is, Robin. I may have been stuck in that room, but I'm not oblivious like Starfire." The bitterness showed in her tone. She took the rose, put it in her cloak and walked away, but before she could go too far, she stopped dead in her tracks.

"Robin…I-I'm sorry." She said, making the trash bin explode.

Starfire had been lost in time for years. Since then, the titans had broken up.

"It's all right. I'm over it. It has been a long time since that happened."

They could only hear the crickets, and the wind blowing. There was a moment of silence, which felt like eternity to the two titans.

None of them wanted to remember that day. He was persistent, she was gone, she was a demon— nothing more.

Raven closed her eyes, feeling the cold wind brush against her cheek. She opened her eyes and furrowed her brows.

"Nightwing, do you miss—" he interrupted her before she could even ask.

"C'mon. We only have one night." Nightwing suggested. "I have much to show you."


	3. Titans Tower

The two titans were walking down the puddle-filled streets of Jump City

The two titans were walking down the puddle-filled streets of Jump City. It was probably half an hour after nine. Just a few more hours to go…

The silence was interrupted by a high-pitched scream from downtown.

The heroes quickly ran (Or in Raven's case, flew) to the scene.

An escaped convict was running loose with a diamond-studded bag in his arms. A shrieking middle-aged lady stood there, pointing at the robber.

"Wait here." Nightwing ordered the woman, promising her that he'd get her bag back. Raven followed closely. "You wait here too. Don't come. It's too dangerous."

Dangerous? Was this the same Robin who shouted 'Titans Go!' when they were teenagers? The courageous, obsessive Robin who gave long sermons about responsibility? What happened to him?

This was not Robin. Not at all. In fact… he was Nightwing now.

"Robin…I'm not just going to wait here." Raven said, emotionlessly, yet fiercely.

"You should." He continued to run after the criminal, catching a glance of him turning in the corner.

He pounced on the criminal, taking away the purse from him. "You can't hide, but you can't run either."

Puns…always there. Now this was the Robin she remembered.

He chased after the robber, and tied him quickly to yet another lamp post. This time, there were no long discussions about poor families, just the same old robbers with the same old twisted schemes.

"Thank you, very much." The lady took her purse and went on with her walking.

Nightwing turned to Raven whose face was full of fury.

"What?" he asked. So clueless. Doesn't even know what he's been doing. So oblivious. Doesn't even know what's happening around him. This may be Nightwing, but he's still Robin inside.

"Nothing." She replied. She continued to walk.

"No, really…what did I do?" Oh no, he was losing yet another member. His efforts proved worthless, so far.

"Nothing."

"Rae…"

"Nothing."

He stopped and placed both his hands on her shoulders. He turned her to face him.

"Tell me."

She turned to look at him angrily. "You really want to know, you persistent **hero**?" The word slurred through her lips in disgust. Fine." He listened to her.

"I'm a hero too, you know."

"Yeah. I know that."

"And all you could say was 'wait here'. While I stand like a **pretty princess**…" She grit her teeth, trying to keep her emotions in tact. If he thought that he could treat her like he did the Tamaranean princess, then he got the wrong person.

"Rae, the team would be nothing without you." He cupped her chin, letting her face him. Her eyes were fighting a way out of his masked ones, but she couldn't pull away. His masked eyes were so inviting, and she could only imagine what lay behind them.

The lightbulb shattered in the lamp post, and the robber found himself struggling to stay away from the demon, and her black aura.

"Yeah, whatever." Raven walked away.

The titans had been going around the same streets for an hour, but the silence kept them away from anything that could bring them together.

"Rae, I'm sorry." Nightwing broke the silence, stopping in his tracks. It has been an hour since their quarrel, and it took him an hour to apologize.

"Yeah." Raven said blankly.

"Rae, I don't wanna waste my time with you just walking here. We only have one night and we might as well do something."

"I was just waiting for you." She said. Her voice was back to its normal self…if normal means scratchy and bland.

Silence…once again…

And silence even more…

"Okay, then." Robin said. "Let's go to the tower."

"Yeah, whatever."

Two hours since the quarrel. It wasn't a big thing anymore. They had more conversations…if more means two or three sentences.

The tower was abandoned, except for the recharging metal-man connected to a large generator.

"Cy…what happened?" Nightwing asked, reaching out to him. He was well determined to fix everything tonight.

"They call you Nightwing now, right?" Asked the half-robot, not answering his friend's question.

His used-to-be-blue parts are now a rusting shade of brown and red.

"What're you doing here?" Cyborg asked. "And how did she get out of the hospital?"

"We just thought we could drop by, you know, have some tofu or steak." Sarcasm was always her thing. She shut her eyes as soon as she said those words. Cursing under her breath.

"So, come to rub it in, Robin? Come to say that I've been rusting in this abandoned tower on my own, while you get to 'fight evil and do good'." He said mockingly, still not forgetting their previous encounter.

"_We need to find Star!" screamed the boy wonder. _

"_Robin, we've been searching for almost a month and she never came back. Take it." Cyborg's voice was calm…calm for a situation like this._

"_You know what? If you can't help us find Star, leave! I don't want to see you again!" Shouted the leader. Again with the exaggeration._

"_Leave like Rae did! Leave!" _

"_Rae didn't leave, Rob. She overused her powers to make a portal to save your precious Starfire… and now nevermore can be released to the world…and Trigon STILL exists there. She didn't want us to get hurt! She didn't want anyone to get hurt!"_

"_Leave. I don't want explanations." _

_Cyborg headed towards the door. "Thanks for the tower, Rob." Sarcasm slurred through his lips like liguid. _

_Robin pointed a gloved finger at Cyborg. "Someday, I'm gonna be a great hero. Everyone will know me. And you were part of that hero's forgotten past!"_

_Cyborg left with a slam at the door._

_Robin looked at the green boy who sat, amazed at yet another titan fight_. "_So it's just you and me, BB." _

"I'm sorry." Said Nightwing. "I was…troubled."

"So, what happened to Beastboy? Was he troubled, too?" Cyborg said, louder, this time. "Or was he fed up of you, much like everyone else?"

Nightwing was taken aback. Cyborg knew him better than anyone else; surely he could imagine what happened after he left. Beastboy only had so much left of Robin to deal with.

Nightwing could imagine Beastboy, walking around the alleys as a dog, picking food from garbage cans and pizza places— all because of him. He tore the titans apart. He ruined their lives.

Nightwing was silenced.

Raven just stood there, tracing the air, where the spot of the sofa used to be. Where Robin and Starfire would be together…hand on hand, face to face…

"Stop!"

Cyborg and Nightwing turned to face the demon. Her call was loud, and very uneccessary.

"Rae, snap out of it!" asked Nightwing, placing his hands on each of her shoulders, shaking her.

She was crouched on the floor, hitting herself in the head. Her fingers formed a tight fist, as she pounded herself, again and again. It was happening again— black aura surrounded the tower, crushing almost everything it got a hold of.

Cyborg bent down too. He has seen Raven's tantrums. He knew that she would always hurt herself, but never saw her like this.

He held her hand, preventing her from hitting herself any further.

"Rae!" screamed the half-robot. "What is it?"

Her grip loosened and when Cyborg and Nightwing let go of her, she fell to the floor, kneeling.

She looked up again. "Let's get out of here. I. Need. To. Get. Out. Of. here." She levitated out of the door quickly, eager to step away from the place that could possibly destroy the world.

"I have to go too." Nightwing said. "I'm sorry, Cyborg. I really am. I just…want to fix it."

"Yeah, man. I know. It was good to see you again." Cyborg's words were sincere. So sincere that a tear almost fell from his metal eye.

"Rae, what happened in there? You never really told me…what happened back there…and in the hospital…" asked Nightwing, his eyes, pleading for answers. He never really thought it would be that way again.

"Too many memories. I can't go back there. I can't go anywhere. I need to go back to the hospital." She said the words like they mashed together, whispering her last sentence over and over.

"Rae…what about the memories? It's not like you had bad memories in there."

"You don't know the half of it." She glared at him bitterly, her teeth were gritted.

"What do you mean?" Robin asked. "We had trouble, I know, but it always turned out okay… except for this one…I promise, Rae, I'll fix it—"

"Yeah, troubles did turn out okay. But there was one thing that didn't. I'm not saying it's a villain, or our enemy…" Her voice quivered at the thought, and tears almost came to her eyes. Almost. "Just my enemy."

_**Here I go…sweep my lungs out trying to get to you you are my only one…and I know…that there's just no one…no one like you…you are my only one.**_

_**--Only One, by Yellowcard**_


	4. Feeling

"What do you mean

"What do you mean?" Asked Nightwing. "Did anyone hurt you? What do you mean your enemy?" questions made its way out of his mouth. Curiosity filled him…and confusion once again entered his world.

"Nobody hurt me, Nightwing." Raven reassured. It was hard to explain. Why did she have to bring up the stupid topic anyway?

"What is it, then, Raven? What? Tell me?"

Raven knew him very well. He wouldn't stop until he accomplished something. He won't stop until he gets something he wants. The same old Robin was back— and that was something she didn't want.

"I'm _**feeling**_." Raven said.

"Feeling what? Are you sick? Are you okay? What the heck are you talking about?"

"No, Robin, I'm _**feeling.**_ Don't you get it?" Her frustration showed in her voice. Her eyes filled with guilt. Lamp posts from all over the streets exploded. She bit her lip and turned away.

She ran a hand through her hair in frustration. She didn't know what to tell him. She only had one night to spend with him and this must be the exact time she finally tells him.

But what was she supposed to say? That she loved him so much that she put the whole world in danger under her almost-exploding temper? That she felt jealous about Starfire and how he would always save Starfire first, and how he liked the alien so much? That she hated the fact that no one could feel what she's feeling right now? Or would she tell him that this night will be a faded memory and would never last? She had a dilemma of choosing between those answers.

"Robin, I mean…Nightwing, please understand…"She pleaded with her eyes. "I love you, Nightwing. I really do… I always did." She turned away, not wanting to see his reaction. It was bad enough knowing that the whole world is in danger…but a demon loving him seemed a bit too much…

"No, Rae…you love Robin. Not Nightwing." He cupped her cheek and pulled her to a soft kiss. She gently placed her hand on his neck. They pulled away and looked into each other's eyes, either masked or icy, mysterious or open, emotionless or pure, but both showed a deep emotion, something they never expected they'd find in each other.

Their lips pulled together again. Nightwing could taste the sweetness of her kiss, he could taste years of longing, he could taste the bitterness, the hate, the love.

He ran his thumb against her cheek, and pulled down her hood. For the first time since they met, he saw her beauty. He traced her pale, sharp features, and could see the moonlight in her lilac eyes.

Their kisses were so tender that it seemed like they melted in each other's mouths. Her kisses were so sweet that he couldn't resist running a hand through her hair, and pulling her closer. They stood so close to each other that her lashes brushed against his cheek when the fluttered closed.

She lifted her hand to his mask, and pulled it off. She dropped it to the floor, and it landed like a feather in the wind. His eyes were so incredibly blue. Not like an ocean, but like a starry night, much like the one tonight. It was gray and emotionless at the first glance, but a beautiful midnight blue when you see it from Raven's eyes. They only seemed to draw her closer.

Her lips curved into a smile, then she pulled away and kissed him in the cheek.

Nightwing put back his mask, hiding the mystery secretly revealed, and Raven put on her hood, hiding the beauty that only one could see.

Though Raven's face had a smile, she had tears in her eyes. "Good morning, Robin."

At one o' clock, the titans found themselves back at the hospital in the entrance of Raven's room.

"Well, that's it, I guess. One night with you…that's all I asked for, and now I got it so…I have to go now…" Nightwing continued to pause in between phrases. He didn't want to leave her here again. He didn't want to be alone again. He wanted to be with Raven for no matter how long forever is.

"Yeah, just one night." Raven continued…

She was alone again. Nothing happy ever lasts. Fate was so cruel. When she had time, she didn't take the chances and now she's given a chance and she takes it, but it's limited. It didn't seem fair.

"I guess I'm back to being Nightwing." He said, missing his old self.

"Yeah."

"Are you sure you want to stay here?"

"I don't want to, but I need to."

He bit his lip. Leaving her would be like the team breaking up all over again.

Silence again filled the room, the hallways, and everything around them.

"Bye, Rae."

He left without a word. He didn't need to say a word. He didn't want to say a word.

"Bye, Robin."


End file.
